The invention relates generally to an arrangement for manipulating eggs.
More particularly, the invention relates to an arrangement for removing eggs from laying houses disposed at different levels.
Egg farms generally have a battery of laying houses which are disposed at different levels one above the other. A so-called egg collecting band is provided at each level in order to convey the eggs discharged from the individual laying houses to a central collecting point. These egg collecting bands are likewise located one above the other.
In one prior art arrangement, the eggs are removed from the egg collecting bands by hook-like or fork-like elements and then transported to a central collecting belt. These hook-like or fork-like elements have the drawback that the eggs are readily damaged so that the proportion of cracked eggs is relatively large.
The West German Gebrauchsmuster No. 72 27 032 discloses an arrangement in which a plurality of cups are mounted on an endless driven sprocket chain. Here, the eggs discharged from the egg collecting bands are introduced into the cups by means of lifting tables. This arrangement thus eliminates the damage caused by the hook-like or fork-like elements. However, as the sprocket chain undergoes changes in direction, the eggs move from one wall of the cups to the other. Moreover, the eggs must again be transferred from the cups to a baffle or a collecting plate. Thus, the eggs are turned and manipulated several times even before they arrive at the final collecting belt from which the eggs are removed for further processing. Accordingly, substantial damage to the eggs is to be expected here also.